Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Thanksgiving is tomorrow. It's a special day for us, Thanksgiving. In 2004, Scotty proposed to me at our annual family get together. That makes tomorrow a sweet anniversary and the marker for all (hopefully) happy and great things to come. I wish everyone out there a happy, love-filled holiday. Be safe, eat a lot, and be happy, wherever you are.

Friday, November 19, 2010

So, life keeps going. Despite all the pain, the loss and the sadness, life keeps going. We get up, we shower, we eat and we keep living. Sometimes, that fact actually provides me with some comfort. And yet, there are other times when the fact that life keeps going on in midst of all the devastation we experience seems like a stupid and cruel joke.

Anyway, here are some photos of the happy moments of this year so far. People always comment on how happy I look in every photo; how I smile with my whole face; how, to look at me, you couldn't tell that I was carrying so much weight with me at all times. So, maybe I should remind myself of the happy times more often. Not to forget the sad ones, but to feel comforted by remembering that although my life's on hold, I am still capable of feeling and looking happy at times.

Here's to a day when real happiness decides to dwell within me. Here's to the day when my smile is not hiding my soul's wounds.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Well, all the bravery and strength; all the excessive, almost compulsive, optimism; all the planning, the doing and the effort; all the shots, the many vials of blood and the ever wonderful vaginal ultrasounds; all that-and I still have nothing to show for. Not pregnant. Still stuck in purgatory.

I am angry. I am very angry. But, somehow, sadness alludes me. I haven't shed one tear since yesterday's dreaded call from the doctor's office at 3 p.m.

You, as a human being, have the ability to shock the hell out of yourself at any given moment. As you live and get older, you begin to believe that you've been around long enough to know yourself well. You anticipate how you'll feel after some life altering experience, tragedy or surprise. And you think you know what you'll be like and what you'll need when shit happens. And then shit happens, as it always does. Something big and seismic befall you. And you're caught off guard by your completely unforeseeable and jarring reaction. You ask yourself: "what the hell?" But, no answer is evident.

Your surprising reaction, this weird feeling you never expected to feel, acts as a key to a door you have never noticed before. Suddenly, the door is unlocked and you are in this whole new place you never knew existed. Nothing looks familiar and it feels so far flung and distant from every other place you have been so far. You are disoriented and apprehensive and facing a whole new set of unknowns, monsters and and mysteries.

I want to yell. I want to destroy. I want to kill something, not sure what, but I feel murderous anyway. But, my instinct to survive has kicked in and I am trying to adjust my senses to this new and unfamiliar place I find myself in. It's so far from the rest of the world- the fertile world- and its inhabitants. It's the farthest I have ever been from that "other world". It's so far off, as a matter of fact, that I can barely see any of it behind me. And I have no clue how to navigate back to it or away from it. I'm just lost.

It's a maze. And I have finally turned a corner that might be the point of no return. The peculiar part of it is that I am too numb, stupefied and anesthetized to mind or miss the world I have left behind. I can barely remember how it felt to live there, never mind miss it. All I feel is anger. That's the extent of my feelings and the reason for being in this new place I find myself in.

So, I begin to think and think and think some more. There seems to be nothing else to do here in this new place. And then I see something. I get a glimmer, a thought and a theory. An epiphany? Maybe.

What is left for me to do is to focus further inward. To continue my personal journey through this grimy, dark, uncertain thing- that's my mission. And I realize that I'm going to allow the isolation to happen. I'm going to left go. Why keep fighting it? Why keep hanging on to a world that doesn't need me to keep humming long and multiply? This is my path. This is where I belong. This is who I am. I'm going to accept and live my part. It may be lonely, sad and scary, but it is the life I've been dealt. I am meant to be here and do this on my own, just like every other thing I've lived through, endured and achieved.

Every big accomplishment, tragedy, success and loss has been a practice in solitude. I've stared at very problem, goal, gain and setback alone and without a safety net or substantial support. Dealing w/ a revolution, a war and the loss of a homeland; adjusting to new lands, new languages and new lives; surviving neglect and emotional abuse; adjusting and becoming a new person several times over; finding my way in a new country; figuring out what to do with my life, who to become; surviving my father's death and my mother's abandonment; getting past my professional losses; even planning my wedding and muddling through life after my miscarriages have been done virtually alone.

The answer I seek is suddenly clear. It's not to keep looking back at the "other world" for understanding, support and empathy. It is not to blame myself for being here alone and without. The answer is to go inward. The answer is to stop looking out at others for help and understanding. The answer is to focus and lean on the one person who is completely present, committed and dedicated- mind, body and soul- to this journey: me. I am the answer. I am my only answer. I am my only solution. This is what I must do and I have to do it alone. Not because I have no other choice or option, but because this is how it has to be.

So, I'm in a new place armed with a brand new realization. Right now, everything is still too raw. But, I know that eventually I'll get up and I'll keep going. And when that happens, I know that I"ll have me to lean on.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Wow!! There were times when I wondered if I'd ever visit this blog again, never mind write anything on it.

I got tired of mindlessly writing cheerful and happy things about cheerful and happy events. I got exhausted from constantly sounding happy and content on this blog. But, what choice did I have? This blog is our "family" blog. This page was created to share our joys and milestones with our friends and family. This is where I was going to post my pregnancy announcement, the ultrasounds, and our birth announcements. This was going to be where I was going to post the first photos of our child. How could I dishonor it by writing something less that happy or cheerful here? How could I dirty it by posting anything less that up, happy and exciting notes and beautiful photos?

Well, I finally realized something very important. Happy does not just happen; it emerges out of hardships and tough times. Joy does not come in a vacuum. And for us, family doesn't just happen, as it so often does for others. And if I want to have this place to write about the bliss in our lives, I'll have to have it to also write about the heartaches in our lives. So, here I am.

I am not here to write about our last great party, or the last wonderful trip to cool destinations, or all the other wonderful things that do happen in our lives on regular basis. I am not, because life's not just a series of happy and wonderful moments. Life has a lot of downs, a lot of losses, a lot of heartbreaks and a lot of disappointments. And I would be disingenuous if I simply went on posting pictures of smiling happy faces and nothing but.

Truthfully, this live is full of beautiful and one of a kind moments. I see amazing things each and every day. I see gorgeous sun rises, heart melting smiles on Scott's face, and all sorts of other awesome things. And I feel very lucky for my life with Scott. We're indeed very fortunate. And together, we have some amazingly unforgettable experiences. I would not give up a single one for anything in the world. But, our life together has also seen a great deal of loss, sadness and disappointment. And our journey has not been as smooth as either of us had expected or wished for. And yet, we are on this sad, awesome, difficult, beautiful, heart breaking, amazing, and awe inspiring journey together and that itself is bliss.

So, this is just to let you out there know that we're still here and that we remain committed, in love and in awe of each other. This is to let you know that we do have an amazing life filled with happy and cheerful moments. It's also to let you know that not everything is sugar and spice 24/7/365. But, what counts is that we're still here...

Monday, September 21, 2009

A true gothic cathedral, Notre Dame makes you feel like a little ant once inside.

Moi at Notre Dame

Yumminess at Pierre Herme', a.k.a the Picasso of Pastry.

Our first photo together in Paris.

St Peter inside of St. Sulpice.

The fountain outside of St. Sulpice Church. This church is featured in the Da Vinci Code, which I am crazy about.

Long time, I know. Summer's officially over and we're in thick of things. It was a fantastic summer. We traveled to my favorite city in the world, the beautiful Paris. I'll let the photos do the talkin'.

Thursday, June 04, 2009

We celebrated our third wedding anniversary on April 29, 2009. It was a great surprise because we weren't supposed to be able to do that. Scott was away on a business trip and wasn't supposed to return until the following weekend. But, the gods and goddesses were watching over us and he was able to get back.

We went to Monsieur Marcel for a fabulous and very lively French dinner and capped the evening at our favorite bakery, Susina. It was a lovely understated evening. It was enchanting.

So, my birthday was such a milestone that we extended the celebratin' to the weekend. We loaded up the car and pack up the dog and drove up to Ventura, the town just north of Los Angeles County and south of Santa Barbara, where we got married nearly three years ago this month.

It was our first visit since the wedding. The weekend was just perfect and the weather gorgeous. It brought back all sorts of fun and happy memories of our wedding and the days leading up to it. Stella had a great time, too. She took a ride with on a side-by-side bike for about an hour, and shocked us both by sitting quietly and enjoying the ride!!! It was very fun and she was super cute!

Left Coast Sachs

What happens when a surfing treehugging dude with a passion for the Allman Brothers Band & a dancer/all around eclectic gal & the biggest Madonna fan meet in their first term of law school? Well, you get us, different as night and day, and yet totally in sync and in love. And now, after lots of hurdles, obstacles and ten years, we’re finally and officially a family. This blog is our way of keeping in touch with friends & family. Visit often, read about us & share your comments. Love, S&A.